With its bold colors, connection to the outdoors, and clever product specs, Chelsea Court is unlike most affordable housing projects. Indeed, said the judges, “it challenges the expectation of what that level of housing can be.”

The Wellington Neighborhood stands out not only for its architecture and master plan but also for its reclamation of a truly hardscrabble site. Previously home to a dredge mining operation, the land was severely damaged and pocked by great boulders.

Koning Eizenberg Architects faced the usual affordable-housing challenges: making the design look customized when it had to be generic to meet budget; standing up to building officials and contractors who ask why details must be done well; and overcoming the resistance of neighbors.